Back on the Blog Chain: My Next Writing Project

Welcome to the first blog chain of the year! For this round, Katrina wants to learn about our writing projects:

Write about your next writing project. What is the genre? Is is one you've written before or is it a new venture? Do you have it all figured out or is it just a germ of an idea? What did you learn from your latest writing project that will make this one even better?

I currently have a novel and a short story in varying stages of editing/cover design. However, since I already discussed my novel, Twinned Universes, as part of The Next Big Thing meme, I'd like to talk about the next book in the Catalyst Chronicles series, Catalyst in the Crucible. The Catalyst Chronicles series comprises the stories listed below, in chronological order:

Lyon's Legacy (novella, published)
"The Mommy Clone" (short story, just came out on Sunday, more details tomorrow)
Twinned Universes (novel, in line editing/cover design)
Brave New Girl (short novella, partial draft)
Catalyst in the Crucible (novel, partial draft)
A Challenge of Catalysts (A few ideas but not started yet. This story will follow directly from Catalyst in the Crucible)

I consider "The Mommy Clone" and Brave New Girl bonus stories that aren't part of the main plot line but help to develop the characters.

Going back to Katrina's questions, Catalyst in the Crucible is science fiction. It's set several years after Twinned Universes and features some of the same characters. However, they're moving to different settings and interacting with new characters; both the settings and new characters require development. Part of what makes this story so difficult to write is what happens to the main character at the beginning of the story--and I can't say more without giving away spoilers.

I've been working on CitC for a couple of years; in fact, it was my most recent NaNoWriMo project. Although I made it past the 50K mark, I had trouble advancing in the story after that. I have most of the story figured out except for the climax. I also know the overall climax for the series, but I don't know yet how to get there from the end of CitC. I do have some ideas, however.

One thing I am doing differently on this project is writing out world-building ideas, preparing character worksheets, and trying to outline more. I'm normally a pantser, but the world is growing and becoming complicated to the point where I need to put it out on paper. I'm also hoping outlining will help me reduce the number of drafts required to get this story ready for the world.

Anyway, I'm blogging to avoid writing, so I'd better return to Catalyst in the Crucible.

Kate was the first to discuss this topic, and Christine will cover it tomorrow, so be sure to check out their blogs.